We Strongly Condemn the Heinous Attack on Innocent People in Orlando

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of Orlando terror and hate attack. We condemn all forms of religious and other forms of extremism that teach hatred and incite violence. However, we need to do more than merely condemning these horrific acts and proactively take steps to counter the “cancer” of extremism.

First, our society as a whole needs to deny the extremist narrative that their actions represent Muslims. It goes without saying that Muslim Americans should promote the peaceful message of Islam.

Our deeds matter more than our words. We should build institutions and programs to cater to the needs of our youth and provide them opportunities to develop social skills to be productive members of our multicultural society. It is imperative to invest in our youth so that they are driven more by hopes and dreams, not hatred and fear of the others.